PC2 Massive Project CARS 2 1.3.0.0 Update Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Slightly Mad Studios have deployed a major new patch for Project CARS 2 today, addressing a large number of the issues currently experienced by players of the title.

The new build has been long awaited by both fans and critics of the Project CARS series following what has been a troubled birth for the new sim, however following plenty of promises from developers Slightly Mad Studios about the next big patch, it very much looks like the studio have been hard a work behind the scenes addressing much of what required attention in this potentially very impressive racing game.

The new build is available now.

Build 1.3.0.0 Update Notes:

Online / Multiplayer

• New game mode - The Online Championship game mode is now available, allowing players to compete online in full championships, spanning multiple rounds.
  
• Fixed an exploit where some players could load custom setups in Community Events when Default Setups are enabled.
  
• Improved logging and syncing when joining online games already in progress.
  
• Fix for an online issue where players would be shown an incorrect error message when attempting to join a game session which was full.
  
• Online Reputation: When being kicked from a race, the system now checks your recent history to help decide if points should be deducted from your ranking score.
  
• Online Reputation: Fixed a bug where remaining players would not score for a win against disconnected players.
  
• Resolved a problem where a previously kicked player, joining back into a game after accepting an invite, would be auto-kicked.
  
• For players joining an active qualifying or practice session, there is now a 3-minute cut-off as the session approaches completion, after which it will no longer be possible to join the session.
  
• An error message is now displayed when an incorrect password is entered when joining a password-protected lobby.

Career

• New Invitational Event - McLaren 720S VIP Challenge.
  
• Fix for career multi-class races, so that the finish position within the class is used for series progression, rather than the overall race position.
  
• Nissan Skyline Silhouette, Nissan Skyline BNR32, Nissan R89C, and Porsche 961 can now be used in Career mode.
  
• Fix for an issue where pop-ups for unlocking Invitational events were displayed in the wrong location.

VR

• Improvements to the VR-specific replay camera system.
  
• Fix for screen dirt and rain drops not rendering correctly in VR.
  
• Fix for an issue when VR combined with NVIDIA Surround caused the game to attempt display of ultra-widescreen content in the VR headset.
  
• Changed the VR Gaze pointer behaviour to also hide when the UI is disabled in Photo Mode and Replays.
  
• Fix for VR Photo Mode initial FOV settings when switching camera mode.
  
• Fix for screenshots taken in VR Photo Mode not saving correctly to the <Documents\Project CARS 2\screenshots> folder.

Controllers

• Logitech - Fix for G29 and G920 lock stops.
  
• Fanatec - improved anti-jolt and high-frequency anti-vibe on the CSWB series.
  
• Thrustmaster - Improvements for the 458 Italia.
  
• Improvements to various controller’s vibration effects.

GUI and HUD improvements

• Session information such as race duration is now displayed on the pre-race menu.
  
• Changed the HUD colouring scale for race rain tyres.
  
• Added a dialog to show replay saving progress.
  
• Change to the way the Start Type is displayed on the Round dialog so that it matches the Race Settings dialog.
  
• Fix for an issue where a menu would become disabled when moving 'down' from the bottom of the menu.
  
• Updates to various buttons to better indicate when a button is selected/highlighted.
  
• Fix for buttons on online post-race results screen so that they only show when they can be pressed.
  
• Fixed cases where the RPM Gauge on the HUD was not matching the actual RPM of the car.
  
• Fixed loading bar to become invisible when local loading is complete.
  
• Added new Help Text for Menu Spring Strength in FFB settings.
  
• Added fuel estimation to Tuning Setup screen and ICM.
  
• Added auto-scroll to a number of info feeds to prevent overlapping text.
  
• Added the name of the car setup currently in use to the 'Setup' button on the Pre-Race screen.
  
• Fix for fuel being displayed incorrectly as mass, not volume.
  
• Improvements to the lap timing and visual-split timing HUD widgets.
  
• Fix for incorrect number of records being counted on Community Event screen.
  
• Fixed an issue in Time Trial where Loaded Ghosts and Options on the Pre-Race menu were highlighted at the same time if the player added multiple ghosts in Time Trial.
  
• Fixed an issue where an incorrect weather forecast icon is displayed for the client in the lobby details screen.

Handling/Damage

• Various tyre behaviour tweaks and improvements to the different tyre compounds.
  
• Altered the pre-heating temperatures of various tyres to prevent them from being outside optimum temp range at race starts.
  
• New rain tyre compound improvements for Group C, GTP, all Formula cars, GT1, and LMP900.
  
• Driveline improvements with increased synchro effect for Hewland-type gearbox
  
• Lowered the time to jam gears together after a missed shift for all gearboxes.
  
• Changes to Vintage Lotus treaded tyres to improve wet speed balance.
  
• Altered radiator damage to make it more progressive, and not accumulate damage from minor impacts.
  
• Fix for issues with radiator settings on the Toyota GT86 GT4, and Rocket Bunny versions, which under some conditions were causing engine overheating.
  
• Changes to downshift protection based on vehicle speed.
  
• Lowered minimum shift time for cars with H-pattern racing gearboxes.
  
• Improved physics setup and damage for Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG.
  
• Fixed missing radiator damage for Ford Escorts, and Ford Mustangs.
  
• Improvements to Formula Renault 3.5 default stable setup.
  
• Performance balancing changes to the LMP1, GT3 and GT4 Classes.
  
• Refinements to Vintage Low Grip tyre.
  
• Balanced performance for BMW M3 GT4, and Ford Mustang Boss 302 R1.
  
• Improved Modern Touring Car tyre compound.
  
• Road car tyres: Tuned the aquaplaning and more sensible behaviour in very deep water.
  
• Increased threshold for detaching front wings of Formula cars.
  
• Adjusted various default setups:
  
• – Aston DB11: Loose
  
• – Aston Vulcan: Loose, and Stable
  
• – BMW 320 TC: Stable
  
• – BMW M3 E30: Loose, and Stable
  
• – Chevy Camaro ZL1: Loose, and OEM
  
• – Ferrari 330 P4: Loose, and Stable
  
• – Ford Fusion Stockcar: Loose.
  
• BMW 2002 StanceWorks: Fixed tyre texture, better strut geometry for kingpin angle and scrub radius, improved drag centre of forces in the aero model.

AI

• Improved AI in low- and high-speed cornering.
  
• Improved balance between player and AI in wet conditions.
  
• Improvements to general AI behaviour and racecraft across all tracks.
  
• Tweaks to how AI are affected by snow and ice.
  
• Improvements to the AI driving on slick tyres in wet weather.
  
• AI Practice and Qualifying grip levels rebalanced to better match expected behaviour.
  
• Better balanced AI speed on corner exit.
  
• Generally improved the AI racing balance and ability across many tracks.

Audio

• Update to various AI car sounds.
  
• Added new sounds for lower pitch skidding.
  
• Improved AI audio levels in replays.
  
• Improvements to Lamborghini Huracán engine audio.
  
• Reduced the skid sounds for the McLaren 720S.
  
• Modified falloff curves for surface and skid sounds.
  
• Updated sound mix for replays, with improved reverb settings for tunnels and bridges.
  
• New tyre skid sound effects for treaded tyres.
  
• Fix for an issue with audio not panning to all speakers in 7.1 under certain conditions.

Tracks

• California Highway Stage 3 - Added an alternate start line to clean up occasional start line issues.
  
• DirtFish (all) - Fixed an issue with render flickering on main building.
  
• DirtFish Mill Run - Fix for an exploit to prevent unrealistic lap times (This includes a leaderboard reset for Time Trial and Community Events on DirtFish Mill Run to remove bogus lap times).
  
• Fuji - Fixed an issue with some render flickering on the front of the pit buildings.
  
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval - Updated dynamic marks, updated AI alternate start line for better cleaner starts.
  
• Circuit de 24 Heures du Mans - Fix for render flickering issue on the fence left of start straight, and in the curve entering the long straight.
  
• Lohéac - Fix for an issue on one kerb where the physics would didn’t behave correctly.
  
• Oulton Park - Fixed floating white lines near entry to pit lane.
  
• Red Bull Ring—National: Changed some dynamic barriers and fixed LODs.
  
• Red Bull Ring GP and National layouts - Fixes for various Replay and Pre-Race camera issues.
  
• Sakitto - Fixed various render popup issues.
  
• Fixed issues with the race start at various tracks.
  
• Adjusted the pit lane placement of Pit Limiter Entry and Exit boards at several tracks.
  
• Improvements to track cut settings at various tracks.

Vehicles

• Audi A1 Quattro - Rebalanced the AI in rain vs. dry.
  
• BAC Mono - New wet tyre compound.
  
• BMW 320 TC - Fixes for gaps in the rear of cockpit, and fixed cockpit display clipping.
  
• Caterham Seven 620 R - Improved wet tyre.
  
• Chevrolet Camaro 1969 - New suspension geometry to better match the Hotchkiss design at the rear and SLA up front.
  
• Chevrolet Corvette C7 Z06 - OEM setup differential opened up.
  
• Dallara DW12 Road - New player rain compound, and new AI wet grip adjustments.
  
• Formula X & Dallara IR-12 - Adjusted engine lifetime model.
  
• Ferrari 488 GT3 - Reduced extra slip allowance at low speeds for better stability.
  
• Ferrari F40 LM - Fixed various cockpit detail issues that were visible in VR.
  
• Ford Escort RS1600 - Adjusted dry and wet speeds for AI to match latest physics changes.
  
• Ford Falcon V8 Supercar - New rain compound.
  
• Ford Falcon V8 Superca - Added a new tyre carcass and made some minor improvements to car handling.
  
• Formula Renault 3.5 - Increased rolling drag and friction torque to AI to balance their speed on straights.
  
• Ginetta G40 - Improved AI tyre stiffness, grip and rolling resistance, to better match player, added new Junior tyre.
  
• KTM X-Bow GT4 - Changed spring and damper data, and added optional final drive ratio.
  
• Ligier JS P - Fixed exhaust positions.
  
• Ligier LMP3 - Fixed rear 3rd bump stop having no range adjustment.
  
• Lotus Type 51 - Increased players wet grip to better match the AI.
  
• Mazda MX-5 Radbul - Engine cooling and durability adjustment to prevent engine from blowing after one lap. New drift setup added.
  
• McLaren P1 GTR - Updated the differentials for Stable, and Loose default setups, for more stability and ease of driving.
  
• Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 - Improved default setup to improve stability.
  
• Nissan Fairlady Z GTS - Various fixes enabling radiator damage, texture fixes, better drag balance, and bigger set of gear ratios.
  
• Nissan Fairlady Z GTS-II - Raised shift light RPM-trigger to 8,000 RPM.
  
• Nissan Skyline Super Silhouette - Boost adjustment for default setup to make the car more competitive with other Group 5 cars.
  
• Porsche 936/77 - Added a wider set of gear ratios.
  
• RWD P20 LMP2 - Changed shift lights to better match engine peak-power.
  
• Toyota GT86 - Altered aero positioning, and fixed an aero-lose problem without changing the setup.
  
• GT4 cars - Change to the tyre carcass model.
  
• LMP1 Cars - Fixed an issue where the AI weren't using the hybrid system, causing an imbalance with the player.
  
• LMP2 cars - Reduced aero drag by 35lbf @ 150mph.
  
• Various road cars - Changed OEM tyres to the correct ones.
  
• Kart - Disabled differential setup adjustments, new tyre carcass construction.
  
• Improved dirt texture on various cars.
  
• Fixed mud and snow textures on various cars.

Other Improvements

• Fixed an issue in Time Trial where the player could load a ghost’s setup for a different car from the player’s car if the selected ghost was in the same class as the player’s car.
  
• Improved the rendering of the edges of LiveTrack puddles for off-road/off-track areas.
  
• Fixed an issue with mud and dust particles being visible inside cockpits.
  
• Improvements to the wet track darkening render effect.
  
• Much-improved motion blur and bokeh effects.
  
• Fix for an issue where, in certain cases, LiveTrack conditions could be carried over from one game type to another.
  
• Improved the synchronisation of clouds and rainfall, and the effects on cars.
  
• Fix for a red/yellow graphical glitch sometimes appearing on track surface.
  
• Fix for an occasional crash when switching shadow detail level.
  
• Fixed an intermittent crash when entering text for a new pit strategy.
  
• Fixed an issue where occasionally some AI cars would not move on the first viewing of a replay.
  
• Fix for an issue that would reset the player’s tuning setup to default when Pausing and choosing to return to pits.
  
• ...and many other small tweaks, improvements and performance enhancements.

Project CARS 2 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Check out the Project CARS 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for more news, discussion and features on this sequel release to the hugely popular Project CARS franchise of games.

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Have you tried the new Project CARS 2 update yet? Has the latest build addressed any / all of the issues you detected with the game? What are your impressions? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Emery]

Can anyone report on the new AI. Is it anywhere near rfactor2 standards?

They get through the Monza chicane now. They cut corners & go off track less often. Otherwise, they're still the same they've always been... lackluster.

 

[F_B]

Wasn’t this update supposed to especially improve the AI?

 

[Deleted member 99238]

Circuit Zolder, Sterrenwachtbocht:

How can you ride slick tires after the end of the rain?
My car throws sideways on every puddle and I'm leaving the track.
AI by this time already change tires to slicks in pits and calmly pass this turn.

 

[Patrik Marek]

reading on their forums, many people seems to be really happy with the patch, as it seems to be fixing lot of issues,

AI doesn't have defensive line , truth, but I always quite liked racing against it, not really sure what people find so bad about it

there are probably better AI's in there, but on man there's so many worse ones as well

 

[natedogg1867]

Yes.

The most heinous thing about this video to me is that the in game driver still takes his hands off the wheel when he turns.

I remember in the first game, at certain angles, the driver would not have either hand on the wheel and the car would effectively be turning itself.

And since SMS for some inexplicable reason still doesnt give the player the option to remove the hands while keeping the virtual wheel... this kills muh immersion.

 

[Rob]

A computer game is a form of entertainment....entertainment is subjective, if the game fails to load and crashes all the time and it's not related to a user hardware fault then you have a chance, if not then you have no chance.

Lol. Wanna bet? Go read the UCC.

 

[Jdizzy42]

By now we should have gfx, A.I and physics all in one package.

Easy for us to say here, but none of the sims have accomplished perfection yet, so I'm guessing it's not so easy yet. I'm sure they all are trying to have the best ai, physics, and gfx.

 

[Gerzson]

AC auto clutches for you (irregardless of your assist settings) when driving an H pattern car with no H pattern shifter. Pc2 auto clutches for you (irregardless of your assist settings) even when driving an H pattern car WITH and H pattern shifter and clutch. This thread isn't about AC or any other game in the genre, btw.
-------------
The clutch and H pattern behavior in pcars has a simulation value of zero; was actually expecting this to be one of the things that SMS remedied in the update.

I would be more than happy if clutch behavior was modeled like it is in AC. I'm planning to build a h-shifter with servo blocking mechanism to help with rpm sync and clutchless shifting to avoid miss-shifts. The way it is in AC is just perfect to let me implement the hardware.

 

[MPortnoy]

there are probably better AI's in there, but on man there's so many worse ones as well

Yes, PCars1
Or inb4 you say GTR2

No but seriously, for it to be a fair comparison it has to be with current sims, which for PC are AMS, R3E, rF2, AC.
I own all of them and none has AI that bad, trust me.
Now, some may argue PCars2 is fairly new.....well, not really if you consider this is a sequel so they've had plenty of time to get it right, and given their record they probably never will.

If you want to compare it to console games, then maybe so, but then tell Ian Bell not to advertise it as a simulator

 

[Rob]

If you want to compare it to console games, then maybe so, but then tell Ian Bell not to advertise it as a simulator

spot on. The anti-auto shift "feature" in pCARS2 is a good example of devs completely reversing real life. In real life, even on auto clutch cars, the driver is still in control. Any engine developer would be laughed at if that were not so. Of course, rich software devs have expensive cars that probably act in a similar matter to the game, but it has no place in racing. Instead, we get a "SIM" that enforces a fallacy that only exists in showroom cars that are $200K plus. They don't race those cars.

This is only one example. The bug-fest that is pCARS2, has thousands of examples, but this is the most glaring one. And telling. It ruins everything.

And you better upgrade your hardware, or you can't experience a puddle destroying your race when no car would be allowed to race in those conditions. Turn 10 tried this and got burned. It's another case of a "feature" that is irrelevant, except for exciting the boardroom.

If your argument is "but everyone else does it" go straight to third grade. I'm not a fan of Assetto's approach either. But it's nowhere near as misguided. Just drive the 2017 F1 car. Instead, SMS enforces their misguided opinion on every car. The fact that they don't even understand (or care to) the differences between road cars and race cars, or one car vs. the others, speaks volumes.

If you try and point these things out on the forums, you get attacked by 1000 sycophant gamers and another 1000 SMS employees. Ian may have learned his lesson re: how not to attack you customers, but his employees have not. We complain out of love (we hope) for the game. We would not be on the forums if we didn't. Some, like me, tend to be more blunt. I even defended SMS after knowing they were pioneers on the console and included oval this time (which are useless), and knowing they tried hard to fix the mistakes in PC1. Now, with the sequel, I get flashbacks to PC1, where it took 1+ years to make the game viable. They don't get the same slack this time.

 

[Jeff Huber]

This is coming from a guy who really isn't a big fan of PC , so take it for what it's worth....

I'm pretty much a hard core AMS , RF2 , AC and RRE type a guy. PC1 I thought was just "OK" with some really weird " everything in it. I was really thinking hard on weather or not I should even try PC2. I did it anyways ( against my better judgement )......but you know what? I was actually surprised at how much better PC2 was over PC1.

Is a 2.7gb patch kind of crazy? yeah , yeah it is. BUT.....it also tells me that the developer is putting in a bunch of work to solve issues that the community is having. Weather you think the game is good or bad , the patch should say....they are at least trying to fix things. Right?

That right there , tells me that maybe they care about their sim a little more than some of you are giving them credit for. No sim is perfect right out of the box ( God knows PC1 was terrible )....but when I see a developer put that much work in their patches , I aint giving up on them , and I don't regret my purchase.

How about instead of venting on this forum....you go to the correct forum and try to help them figure out what the issues are?

Again....I'm not even a huge PC2 fan , but I applaud a team that is will to crank out as many patches as necessary to correct issues.

 

[Nestoche]

Oh well, Looks like the hype for Project Cars 3 is on schedule since all is back to normal and all that needed fixing is.......fixed! /s... We can now all look forward to another bug infested mess in PC3 in a couple of years with more promises of guess what?.....nothing!..It will be the same stale and crappy single player career mode with pretty cars and a awful buggy AI v3.0. No creativity, no originality no innovations at all from the SMS geniuses to make a racing sim that no others have.

No, they just copy and paste what their top AAA competitors do like Forza and GT. More DLC's ca$h cow$ like more cars and more tracks but the game features has no heart and no soul and no purpose.

I'm done fighting with this game, it looks pretty on the outside but on the inside it's just.....Oh forget it. I'll take my loss($$) like a man and won't look back but ahead. Now back to my regularly schedule program(s)..Automobilista, RFactor2 and RaceRoom

 

[Patrik Marek]

I really find it strange when someone who races cars in real life says that it's spot on, or like the guy who owns Mitsubishi Evo ( can't remember if it was 8 or 10 ) saying that the guy who did physics for it should get medal, because it's exactly as his real life car

and yet there are people who dont' really say anything concrete, and just sum it that it's .. oh well :-/

I guess we all have sims that we can't stand, my one that I can't stand is AMS, and doesn't matter what I read about it, it's garbage for me , that almost broke my wheel

 

[Ace King]

Easy for us to say here, but none of the sims have accomplished perfection yet, so I'm guessing it's not so easy yet. I'm sure they all are trying to have the best ai, physics, and gfx.

rFactor2 already has the very best ai and physics on the planet, 24 hour cycle, full working yellows with pace car and it's not far behind any longer with it's improved graphics since their introduction of DX11 (beta). Improved rain effects and UI coming very soon!

 

[apex11]

I really find it strange when someone who races cars in real life says that it's spot on, or like the guy who owns Mitsubishi Evo ( can't remember if it was 8 or 10 ) saying that the guy who did physics for it should get medal, because it's exactly as his real life car

and yet there are people who dont' really say anything concrete, and just sum it that it's .. oh well :-/

I guess we all have sims that we can't stand, my one that I can't stand is AMS, and doesn't matter what I read about it, it's garbage for me , that almost broke my wheel

That's not really the point, the point is that this patch fixes SO much that its hard to now refute that the game was broken in the first place.....surely.
Well done on SMS trying to fix it, but maybe next time don't yet again scrimp on Q and A and keep it in house, or even hell, Ian play your own games on all systems, its your product.

Its not fair to sell a game with min requirements then simply tell people they should get a better PC / console via your attack dogs...
SMS seem to invest more in buying off youtube 'personalities' and ranty blogs than Q and A....go figure..

 

[gianlucaP]

ì

 

[Damage Inc]

nope they were.

think I can also quote..

Holy s.... THE DEMO IS AMAZING!!!

lol the placebo effect in that forum is the only thing amazing!

I see not much difference at all. However its miles better than PC1 maybe PC5 we could have a contender?

I'm sorry but I have to say the reading comprehension thing again..."perfect" and "amazing" are two completely different words the last time I checked!!

Also, I think you'll find people on official forums say things like that, have you seen the AMS sub forum here? I think Reiza are fantastic but some here think they are demi gods going by some of the posts!!

 

[Damage Inc]

Ermmm, yes over on the official forum, which i was talking about, so maybe its YOU who needs to learn to read, there were many many folks saying how perfect PCars 2 was at launch and how it was "da bestest sim eva in it".
PCars franchise does appear to be the "my first sim" and as such attracts a lot of children or persons of feeble mind...like you...
Fair play its a good way to attract the maximum amount of customers much like Forza and Codemasters products...

Oh and also SMS sold the game as perfect pre release....

Find me a quote where someone calls the game perfect without any "for me" subjective clarification.

And name me one game that is not released as perfect according to the devs. I really want to know what planet you exist on because it's not the same one I'm on.

Oh and the "feeble minded" thing, way to go to insult a load of people, maybe I'll go the David route and try and get your post removed for being insulting?

 

[rw3]

So I took a break from it due to the bugs. Some very very annoying bugs. This time I cranked the AI level up a bit (85 with 100 aggression) and you know what? It's not bad. And it's more consistent. It's possible of course that consistency is improved only because I put it near 100%, as I suspect the hardest task is to figure out what degradations to add to performance as you lower that number. Either way I had fun last night in an offline sim. I'll take that.

 

[Jempy]

Same conclusion for me, gianlucaP

The system of publishing unfinished game finally shows its weakness ...
With it, as time goes by .... there will much more complaining customer than .... happy ones.

Now and surely worse in the future with such a system, you never know which game devs team you can trust.